What is the difference between a business and personal event? Plenty! I will focus on three different type of events and how they differ from multiple prospectives including focus, planning time, and budgeting.

Let’s think about a wedding. Probably the largest segment of the event meeting services market and they are practically recession proof. People continue to get married even in tough times. However, the focus of the wedding are the BRIDE and GROOM, FOOD, and ENTERTAINMENT.

Next, let’s think about personal parties. These consist of special birthday parties, bridal and baby showers, anniversary celebrations, and holiday get together. The focus of these events is THE ONE BEING HONORED, FOOD, and BEVERAGE. When trying to get unique ideas and decorations about personal parties, I recommend you go to Party411.

Lastly, think about business or organizational events. These celebrations can be large or small but generally consist of grand openings, number of years in business celebrations, training, retreats, company parties, and non-profit fundraisers. The focus of these events are THE ATTENDEE, FOOD, and LOCATION (City and Venue).

To see questions and answers about various types of events and how to plan for them, I would recommend going to MerchantCircle and Eventective Forum. If you are apart of an event meeting services or conference services organization, I recommend you belong to some of the great LinkedIn groups and ask your questions there.Here is a table delineating the differences between a wedding, party, and business event in more detail.

Difference Between Events

Wedding

Party

Business

Focus

Bride and Groom

Honoree

Guests or Attendees

Budget

$5,000-$50,000+

$200 to $5,000

$1,500-$100,000

Planning Time

1 to 3 Years

3 mos. – 1 Year

4 mos. – 3 years

Food

Very Important

Very Important

Very Important

Beverage

Very Important

Somewhat Important

Somewhat Important

Entertainment

Very Important

Not Important

Not Important

Invitations (look and feel)

Very Important

Important

Not Important

City (Destination)

Somewhat Important

Not Important

Somewhat Important

Venue

Very Important

Somewhat Important

Very Important

Decorations/Flowers

Very Important

Somewhat Important

Important

Games

Not Important

Very Important

Not Important

Favors/Goody Bags

Not Important

Important

Very Important

Renting Audio Visual Equipment

Important

Somewhat Important

Very Important

For a wedding or party, you might consider the following audio visual:

Presentation Services Audio Visual, including Projector Rental to highlight a photo, video, or blended show of the bride and groom or honoree

Sound and Light Rental for Entertainment and to add pizazz to your event

For a business or organizational event, you might consider the following corporate audio visual:

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